Apple today updated its popular iBook G4 lineup for consumers and education customers with PowerPC G4 processors running at up to 1.2 GHz and an optional DVD-burning SuperDrive. The new iBook G4 lineup includes support for advanced wireless connectivity with AirPort Extreme 54 Mbps 802.11g wireless networking and Bluetooth, and a slot-load Combo drive for burning CDs and watching DVDs. The new iBook G4 can now hold up to twice as much fast DDR memory for even greater performance.
“The iBook G4 was built from the ground up for consumers and students living their digital life on the go,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing in the press release. “The new iBook G4 is an incredible value with faster G4 processors, twice the memory expansion and iLife ’04, Apple’s award-winning suite of applications for creating and managing digital photos, music and movies.”
The new 12- and 14-inch iBooks offer a perfect mix of portability, performance and affordability, with faster PowerPC G4 processors and up to six hours of battery life for all-day mobile use in the classroom or on the road. Providing best-in-class graphics capabilities, each iBook G4 offers ATI
Mobility Radeon 9200 graphics with 32MB of dedicated DDR memory and AGP 4X support for gaming and watching DVDs. The iBook G4, with a sleek polycarbonate plastic enclosure weighing as little as 4.9 pounds, is made even more durable with slot-load optical drives.
The iBook lineup offers the latest in wireless connectivity with every model supporting optional AirPort Extreme 54 Mbps 802.11g wireless networking, an advanced feature that comes built-in on the 1.2 GHz 14-inch configuration. Customers can also choose to include an internal Bluetooth module for wirelessly connecting peripherals such as the Apple Wireless Keyboard and Apple Wireless Mouse. All iBook G4 models also offer a full complement of I/O ports, including FireWire 400, USB 2.0 and a built-in 56K v.92 modem and Ethernet (10/100BASE-T) that enable connectivity to today’s popular peripherals.
Every new iBook G4 includes iLife ’04, Apple’s award-winning suite of digital lifestyle applications including iTunes for managing digital music, iPhoto for organizing and sharing digital photos, iMovie for digital movie making, iDVD for creating and burning Hollywood-style DVDs and GarageBand, a revolutionary new music application that turns a Mac into a professional-quality musical instrument and recording studio.
The iBook G4 comes with Apple’s latest operating system pre-installed. Mac OS X version 10.3 “Panther” delivers more than 150 breakthrough features including iChat AV, an easy to use desktop video conferencing solution; FileVault, which uses the latest security standards and 128-bit encryption technology to ensure that data in the home directory is kept secure; Expose, a revolutionary new way to instantly view all open windows; Instant On, which wakes the iBook from sleep in just one second; and Automatic Networking, which automatically switches the network connections between Ethernet, 802.11 and modem. With enhanced Windows compatibility, files,
printers and network services can easily be shared with Windows users. iBook G4 also comes with a collection of productivity and entertainment titles including AppleWorks, Quicken 2004 for Mac, WorldBook Encyclopedia 2004 Edition and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4.
The new iBook lineup is immediately available through The Apple Store, Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers in three standard configurations.
The 1.0 GHz PowerPC G4 iBook, weighing just 4.9 pounds, has a suggested retail price of $1,099 (US) and includes:
– a crisp 12.1-inch (diagonal) active-matrix TFT display
– 256MB DDR SDRAM expandable to up to 1.25GB maximum memory
– a 30GB Ultra ATA hard drive
– two USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 400
– VGA video out, S-video and composite video out support
– Ethernet (10/100BASE-T)
– a slot-load Combo (DVD-ROM/CD-RW) drive
The 1.0 GHz PowerPC G4 iBook, weighing just 5.9 pounds, has a suggested retail price of $1,299 (US) and includes:
– a crisp 14.1-inch (diagonal) active-matrix TFT display
– 256MB DDR SDRAM expandable to up to 1.25GB maximum memory
– a 40GB Ultra ATA hard drive
– two USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 400
– VGA video out, S-video and composite video out support
– Ethernet (10/100BASE-T)
– a slot-load Combo (DVD-ROM/CD-RW) drive
The 1.2 GHz PowerPC G4 iBook, weighing just 5.9 pounds, has a suggested retail price of $1,499 (US) and includes:
– a brilliant 14.1-inch (diagonal) active-matrix TFT display
– 256MB DDR SDRAM expandable to up to 1.25GB maximum memory
– a 60GB Ultra ATA hard drive
– AirPort Extreme wireless networking
– two USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 400
– VGA video out, S-video and composite video out support
– Ethernet (10/100BASE-T)
– a slot-load Combo (DVD-ROM/CD-RW) drive
Additional build-to-order options for the new iBook G4 include the ability to upgrade to up to 1.25GB of DDR SDRAM, the 4x SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW) optical drive on the 14-inch models, a 40GB or 60GB Ultra ATA/100 hard drive, internal Bluetooth module, AirPort Extreme Base Station, AirPort Extreme Card and the AppleCare Protection Plan.
See the upgraded iBook line here.
superdrive on ibook???
For someone who owns a 10 day old 800Mhz iBook this is really annoying!!!
Grrrrrrr!!!!!!!!
FIRST POST!
Damn, knew I shouldn’t have written those last two words!
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Isn’t it funny how as soon as Apple start switching processors to IBM, Motorola G4s suddenly start getting a lot faster and cooler? The low-end is finally all over the 1GHz mark.
Still prefer the 12″ PB though.
Feature-wise, 12″ PowerBook is still the best value, too.
twelveightyone,
If your iBook is really only 10 days old, call Apple. I believe their policy is you’re entitled to an refund/upgrade if you purchase in the 10 days preceding an upgrade. I could be wrong, but I think I’ve heard that somewhere.
matt,
i’m happy with my iBook, can’t be bothered, what’s 200Mhz between friends?
There’s only one thing keeping me form buying a new 12″ iBook, besides lack of money
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”grin” style=”border:0;” /> —> VGA output??!! That is stupid. I want to be able to connect to an Apple flat panel monitor at home and you cannot do it with VGA. Ridiculous choice. Remember the first 12″ Powerbook was DVI and people put up such a howl Apple changed it with the next upgraded models. I hope the same happens with th iBook.
The exact opposite is the case in the presentation world. Pretty much all digital projector have VGA connections, so it’s a pain in the butt to have to whip out a converter and explain all that to users. Some of the newer projectors are coming with DVI now, but I doubt that they will ever come with an ADC connection.
You make some good points, Joel. So, why not both VGA and DVI like the Powerbook? I’d like a consumer book, not a pro book, but even a consumer, home user could want and need both of types of video output. It would be worth it to me to pay a few extra bucks to have both.
Time to put my 2 month-old 12″ iBook on ebay
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For someone who owns a 10 day old 800Mhz iBook this is really annoying!!!
Stop your “Grrrrrrr!!!!!!!!” and vist your apple store they will love you a little and upgrade you alot…
GUTTED!!!
I contacted PC World where just 10 days ago I forked out �849 for my lovely iBook. Apparently the 10 day return policy only applies to Macs bought directly from Apple.
The result? No chance of an exchange. I even contacted Apple themselves, and after they’d stopped sniggering they told me I couldn’t exchange it because I bought it from PC World.
DAMN PC WORLD! GOD DAMN CRAPPY SHOP!!!
On Education pricing. Equip the 12″ ibook with a 60 gig HD and a airport card, and the 12 powerbook is only $150 more!!